Hall of Fame
TUFILLARO LACROSSE SYNOPSIS:
· 1997 Brine/IWLCA Division II All-American
· 1994 Brine/IWLCA Division II All-American
· 1997 Division II Attack Player of the Year
· 1997 Senior All Star Game Participant
· Two-Time All-PSAC Selection (First Team ’97; Second Team ’95)
· Two-Time Team MVP (’95, ’97)
TUFILLARO FIELD HOCKEY SYNOPSIS:
· 1995 CHFCA First Team All-American
· Three-Time All-PSAC Selection (’92 HM, ’94, ’95)
Bernadette ‘Bernie’ Tufillaro Pence was a three-time All-American while competing in field hockey and lacrosse during her career at Shippensburg University. Between the two sports, she was honored five times as an All-PSAC competitor.
She burst onto the scene in her first collegiate season of competition, scoring three goals and recording seven assists during the field hockey season before scoring 29 goals with three assists during the lacrosse season.
In field hockey, Tufillaro totaled 17 goals and 17 assists in her career while serving primarily as a midfielder. She was among the team’s leading goal scorers during her tenure and also finished second in assists during all four of her competitive seasons. In terms of all-conference honors, she was an honorable mention selection as a freshman and an all-conference performer as a junior and a senior.
Tufillaro capped off a strong senior season in 1995 by being named as a CFHCA First Team All-American in addition to an All-PSAC First Team selection after tying for the team lead with six goals in addition to recording three assists. At the time of her graduation, she held the school record for career assists.
In lacrosse, Tufillaro thrived as a senior, scoring 54 goals and totaling 16 assists for an impressive 70 points. She was named the Division II Attack Player of the Year in addition to receiving All-PSAC and All-American honors.
It was the second time in her career that she was named the lacrosse team’s MVP. In 1995, Tufillaro was also honored after scoring 45 goals and 10 assists during a season in which Shippensburg was ranked No. 1 in Division II. Tufillaro still holds the school record for most goals scored by one player in a game after tallying 11 times in a victory over East Stroudsburg.
She finished her lacrosse career with 157 goals and 34 assists for 191 points. Tufillaro ranks fourth in school history for career goals.
After graduation, Tufillaro began working as first-grade teacher in the Spring-Ford School District – a position she holds to this day. She married David Pence in 2002. The couple has a 5-year-old son, Keegan Richard, and 2-year-old twins, son, Brecken Elliott, and daughter, Kaia Mailie.
